Joe Biden says women 'probably shouldn't vote for me' if they believe Tara Reade's sexual assault claim against him and then admits he does not even remember her

Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden has claimed he doesn't remember the former Senate staffer who accused him of sexually assaulting her in 1993.

The former Vice President was asked whether he remembered Tara Reade, 56, a woman who accused him in March of reaching under her skirt and assaulting her when he was a senator and she his aide.

Speaking with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell yesterday, Biden was asked whether he remembered the woman - who was 29 at the time of the alleged assault.

'Well, to be honest with you, I don't,' Biden said.

'But let me get something clear, when a woman makes a claim that she has been harassed or abused, and this claim has changed... she should be taken seriously,' Biden said.

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During an interview with MSNBC (pictured), Biden said he did not remember Reade during her time working as one of his aide's when he was a Senator, but insisted that she should be taken seriously

'She should come forward, share her story, she should be taken seriously and it should be thoroughly vetted. And in every case, what matters is the truth. The truth is what matters.

'And the truth of the case is nothing like this ever, ever happened... I give you my word. It never, ever happened. I give you my word. It never, ever happened.'

Following Biden's denial, O'Donnell brought his attention to a New York Times opinion piece titled 'I Believe Tara Reade. I'm Voting for Joe Biden Anyway' in which the author says that despite believing the accusations, she would still vote for Biden over Donald Trump, writing 'suck it up and make the utilitarian bargain'.

In response, Biden said: 'Well, I think they should vote their heart and if they believe Tara Reade, they probably shouldn't vote for me. I wouldn't vote for me if I believed Tara Reade.

'The fact is that look at Tara Reade's story. It changes considerably. And I don't want to question her motive, I don't want to question anything other than to say the truth matters,' he told the MSNBC host.

'This is being vetted, it's been vetted, [by] people [and] scores of my employees over my whole career. This is just totally, thoroughly, completely out of character. And the idea that in a public place, in a hallway I would assault a woman? ... I promise you. It never happened.'

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Tara Reade (pictured) claims that Biden sexually assaulted her in a Congressional hallway when she was working as a Senate staffer in 1993

Reade has accused Biden of sticking his hand down her skirt and digitally penatrating her in a Congressional hallway when she worked for him as an aide in 1993.

The allegations evolved from what Reade had told reporters in 2019 when a number of women came out and said Biden had touched them inappropriately, though not in a sexual way.

Reade had previously claimed that Biden liked her legs and wanted her to waitress at a Capitol Hill cocktail party while she was on staff. Reade also complained that he was touchy-feely, putting his hands on her shoulders, neck and hair.

'This is not a story about sexual misconduct; it is a story about abuse of power,' she had told Vox reporter Laura McGann, who wrote about Reade's changing story in an essay Thursday.

Reade first told her sex assault story to journalist Katie Halper for her 'Katie Halper Show' podcast on March 25.

'None of that means Reade is lying, but it leaves us in the limbo of Me Too: a story that may be true but that we can't prove,' McGann wrote.

While a neighbor of Reade's recalls the ex-Senate staffer talking about an incident with Biden in the mid-90s, according to reporting from Business Insider, so far no official documentation has been produced. Reade has also said that the sex assault charges weren't included in any Senate complaint she said she made.

On May 1, Biden denied the allegations on-camera on 'Morning Joe,' which was his first television appearance pushing back on Reade's story.

'I'm saying unequivocally, it never, never happened,' Biden said.

Joe Biden says women 'probably shouldn't vote for me' if they believe Tara Reade's sexual assault claim against him and then admits he does not even remember her
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